Apparatus for operating on wire stock



Feb. 9, 1943- F. W. GAINES,3D., ETAL 1 APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON WI RESTOCK Filed Aug 25, 1941 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOKS FIGIFEEICK W-64mm: )0;

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Feb. 9, 1943. w. GAINES, an, EIAL APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON WIRE STOCKs Sheets-Sheet 2 ONN . INVENTORJ fikspse/cz 14 60%.?! Mum/w 4 57/4527-ATTORNEYS MWYM 1943- 'F. w. GAINES, 30., ETAL 2,310,914

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON=WIRE STOCK Filed Aug. 25, 1941 8 Sheets-Sheet3 l l l I4.

W ATTORNEYS Feb- 9, 1943.

F. w; GAINES, an, ETAL, 2,310,914 APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON WIRE STOCKs 5 4 i m mm ym Mm Wi w w m: A u (A & MM 8 24 7 Filed Aug. 25, 1941 I 8Sheets-Sheet 5 Hl l luwl u l hur FIIIILIII Filed Aug: 25, 1941 F. W.GAINES, 3 D., El'AL APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON WIPE STOCK Feb. 9, 1943.

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F. W. GAINES,'3D., EI'AL APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON WIRE STOCK FiledAug. 25, 1941 "a Sheets-Sheet a mvENToRQs fleas-max HZ 640/5: 34'

MAL/AM ,4 Ems-er M W fi I A ORNEY5 1943- F. w. GAINES, 3b., ETAL2,310,914

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON WIRE STOCK Filed Aug. 25, 1941 "sSheets-Sheet a INVENTOR:

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BY MAL/14M 457/4527- ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 9, 1943 UNITED STATESPATENT; JOFFICE APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON WIRE STOCK Frederick W.Gaines, 3rd, Cleveland Heights, and William A. Ehlert, South Euclid,Ohio, asslgnors to The Ajax Manufacturing Company, Euclid, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application August 25,1941, Serial No. 408,142

' trating the mounting for the upper feed rolls.

11 Claims. This invention relates to improved apparatus forstraightening wire stock and for cutting desired lengths from theleading end of the stock.

An object of our invention is to provide an improved arrangement in*which the drawing, straightening, and cutting of the wire stock can al1be carried out in the same machine and in a desired sequence during theforward travel of the stock.

A further object of our invention is to provide apparatus of this kindembodying novel stock feeding means as. well as a novel cut-oilmechanism by' which desired lengths or sections of stock can be cutrapidly from the leading end and with greater accuracy than hasheretofore been obtainable.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide apparatus of this kindhaving novel means for permitting fine adjustment of the stock gauge tobe made while the machine is in operation.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certainnovel steps of procedure and in certain novel combinations andarrangements of parts, all of which are hereinafter described in detailand particularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation showingone embodiment of our improvedapparatus for operating on wire stoc Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing,on a larger scale, an intermediate section or unit of the machine whichembraces the stock feeding and straightening means;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of such intermediate section or unit;

Fig. 4 is aside elevation of the cut-oil unit or section of the machineshowing the same on a larger scale than in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of such cut-ofi unit;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken through the machinesubstantially as indicated by line 6-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is another transverse sectional view taken through the machinesubstantially as indicated by line 1-1 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a partial side elevation of the machine showing the drive forthe feed rolls;

Fig. 9 is a partial transverse sectional view taken through the cut-offunit of the machine as indicated by line 9-9 of Fig. 5; a

Fig. 10 is a partial end elevation looking toward the cut-oil unit asindicated by line l0|0 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 11 is a partial vertical sectional view illusthe view being takenas indicated by line ll--Il Fig. 14 is another partial longitudinalsectional view taken through the cut-oil unit of the machine asindicated by line ll-H of Fig. 7;

Fig. 15 is a partial transverse sectional view taken through the cut-oflunit as indicated by line Ii-II 0! Fig. 12; and

Fig. 16 is a partial transverse sectional view taken through the cut-oilunit, of the machine adjacent the main power shalt as indicated by linel6l6 of Fig. 5.

Our novel apparatus for operating on wire stock will now be described ingreater detail, and although in so doing, particular reference will bemade to the embodiment of the apparatus illustrated in the drawings, itshould be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to thisparticular apparatus but may be embodied in various other similarmachines and equipment.

Our improved apparatus comprises in general a wire-drawing unit 20 inwhich the stock 2| is subjected to an intermittent drawing or sizingoperation, a stock feeding and straightening unit 22, and a cut-01f unit23 in which sections or. blanks 2la. of desired length are cut from theleading end of the stock. Each of the units just referred to will bedescribed in greater detail hereinafter.

The drawing unit 20 corresponds substantially with the wire-drawingmachine of United States Patent No. 2,226,400 granted December 24, 1940,

and as disclosed in said patent, comprises a frame 24 having areciprocating slide 25 therein carrying a wire-drawing die 26. The slide25 may be actuated during the drawing stroke by a lever 2'! which iscarried by a transverse rock shaft 28. The drawing unit 20 also includesa stock gripping device 29 which grips and holds .the stock during thedrawing stroke and prevents with the die slide 25 by rods 33. .Thesediflerent elements of the drawing unit to which we have just referredare all described in detail in the above-mentioned United States patent,and further explanation of their construction and operation in thepresent case is deemed unnecessary.

The feeding and straightening unit 22, which comprises the intermediatesection of the machine, is provided with a frame 22a having a pair offeed rolls 34 and 35 at the end thereof adjacent the drawing unit 20 anda second pair of feed rolls 36 and 31 adjacent the cut-off unit 23.Between the two pairs of feed rolls we provide a stock straighteningmeans which acts to straighten the stock immediately after it-has beendrawn and this device may be any suitable straightener which willaccomplish this purpose. In this instance the straightening devicecomprises banks 38 and 39 of grooved straightening rollers. 38 lie in asubstantially horizontal plane and are arranged in two rows or groupsdisposed on opposite sides of the stock 2| and with the rollers of onerow disposed opposite the intervening spaces of the other row. The bank39 comprises a similar arrangement of rollers 39a, but the rollers ofthis bank are arranged to lie in a substantially vertical plane. Thebanks 38 and 39, as here shown, each comprise seven straighteningrollers, although a larger or smaller number of rollers might beemployed. The individual rollers of these banks are mounted on blocks 40which are slidable transversely of the axis of the stock so that therollers of one row can be adjusted toward or away from the rollers ofthe other row. The three center-rollers of each bank are located oradjusted so that they will produce overbending of the stock in adirection transversely of its axis, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. Thisoverbending is shown somewhat exaggerated in Figs. 2 and 3, and in theactual machine is only as much as is necessary to obtain a desiredstraightness of the drawn stock.

The straightening of the stock at a point in the apparatus immediatelyfollowing the drawing operation is important and produces improvedresults not heretofore obtainable. Wire stock such as that on which thepresent apparatus is designed to operate is supplied to headers, screwmachines, or other machines for producing bolts, screws, studs, and avariety of other articles requiring straight cold drawn blanks for theirfabrication. This stock is usually cold drawn and is taken up in coilsduring the drawing operation. These coils are stored until needed andduring this time the stock becomes agehardened. If such age-hardenedstock is supplied to a conventional straightening machine, it will befound that the straightened stock will not remain straight, but willacquire a warp corresponding with the bowed or curved contour of thestock while it remained in its coiled condition. Efforts have been madeto overcome this tendency by passing the stock through rotarystraightening devices, but these have introduced other difficulties suchas a tendency to mar the stock and to cause the stock to swell duringthe cut-off operation. Such rotary straighteners are also subject torapid wear, because the stock has become age-hardened while in thecoiled condition and is difiicult to straighten and requires a largeamount of overbending.

We have found that by subjecting the stock to a straightening operationimmediately following a drawing operation which has been per- Theindividual rollers 38a of the bank formed in a straight line, the stockis not subjected to uneven strains as caused by coiling and will notthereafter have any tendency to warp or bend when it has beenincorporated in blanks or various manufactured articles. The stock isdrawn in a straight line by the reciprocating action of the drawing die26 and is then subjected to a straightening operation while it is stillfree from age-hardening. When cold drawn coiled stock is supplieddirectly to the action of a straightener, the stock can twist and skewas it advances and this causes uneven strains in the stock which alsoproduce warping and interfere with the accuracy of the cut-offoperation. The gripping device 29 holds the stock from twisting orskewing during the drawing stroke and the drawing die holds the stockagainst twisting or skewing during the feeding of the stock, andtherefore such uneven strains will not occur in the stock. Thestraightening operation, as above explained, consists in subjecting thestock to overbending in two different transverse planes, but which needbe only a relatively slight amount of overbending. The important thingis that the stock is drawn in a straight line, is held against twistingor skewing, and is straightened immediately following the drawingoperation, and we have found that with stock which has been thustreated, the blanks can be cut off more accurately as to length and thearticles manufactured therefrom will remain straight indefinitely.

We find it desirable to employ the two pairs of feed rolls abovereferred to because this permits one pair of feed rolls 34 and 35 to belocated immediately adjacent the drawing unit 2. to receive the drawnstock therefrom and feed the same through the banks 38 and 38 ofstraightening rollers. The other pair of feed rolls II and 31 can belocated between the straightening means and the cut-off mechanism, andwhen a coil of stock is used up and the end passes through the feedrolls 34 and 35, the other pair of feed rolls 36 and 31 will continue tofeed the stock into the cut-off unit 23.

As shown in the drawings, the feed rolls of each pair have peripheralgrooves which grip the stock and advance the same as the rolls aredriven intermittently. The lower rolls 34 and 36 are actuated by drivingthe shafts 34a and 36a upon which they are mounted and the upper rollsare mounted on shafts 35a and 31a which are driven from the shafts ofthe lower rolls by the spur gears 4| and 42. The shafts a and 36a arejournaled in the frame 22a to rotate on fixed axes and are driven in amanner to be presently explained.

A novel mounting arrangement for the upper rolls 35 and 31 permits theserolls to swing toward or away from the lower rolls to properly grip thestock. Since the mountings for both of the upper rolls are substantiallyidentical, it is only necessary to describe the mounting arrangement forthe roll 35. The shaft 354 carrying the upper roll 35 is journaled in aswinging head 43 which has a hinge connection 44 with the frame 22a at apoint offset laterally from the plane of the rolls. The frame 22a has anupwardly extending forked portion 48 thereon providing a recess orguideway 41 in which the swinging head 43 is vertically movable. Acompression spring 43 located in a recess of the frame 22a at a pointbeneath the head 43 acts on the latter in a direction tending toseparate the upper roll 35 from the lower roll 34. The roll may beshifted or'yieldably pressed toward the roll 34 for the desired extentby means of a compound lever arrangement adapted to act on a roundedprojection ill of the head 43. This compound lever arrangement maycomprise a lever having a hinge connection 52 at one end thereof withthe frame 22a and a second lever I3 yieldably fulcrumed on the frame andhaving a cam or eccentric portion 54 engageable with the outer end ofthe lever II. The fulcrum for the lever 53 may comprise a forkedmemberor yoke 55 having a threaded stem 58 extending the forwardmovement of the stock pulls the die slide 25 up against the lever 21 sothat the die slide will be ready for the next drawing stroke.

The second pair of feed rolls 88 and Il may be driven from the shaft 34aof the feed roll a stroke of the die slide 25 by adjusting the positionthrough the opening of a 1113 51 of the frame. A

compression spring 58 surrounding the stem below the lug 5! acts on theyoke 55 to cause the compound lever to yieldably shift the feed rolltoward the roll 34.v With the arrangement just described, it will beseen that the lever 63 will be very easy to operate. because its forceis applied to the lever 5| .through the eccentric portion 54; andit isonly necessary to swing the lever 53 about its pivot 53a to causeclosing or opening of the feed rolls. A pair of lock nuts "a may beprovided on the stem 58 as an adjustable abutment which determines theextent to which the yoke 55 can be moved by the spring 58. The springsand 68 are so selected that whenthe lever 53 is swung upwardly torelease the spring 58, the spring 49 will lift the head 43 to separatethe rolls and when the lever 53 is swung down to the position shown inthe drawings, the action of the levers and the spring II will shift thehead 43 downwardly, compressing the spring 49 and pressing the roll 35against the stock 2|.

In the present apparatus, the pairs of feed rolls are drivenintermittently and for the proper interval to advance the stockaftereach drawing stroke of the die slide 25. To obtain this timedactuation of the feed rollswe flnd it desirable to drive the rolls fromthe actuating means for the die slide. As mentioned above, the die slideis actuated by the swinging lever 21 which is carried by the transverserock shaft 20. The lever 21 may be actuated by a link or connecting rod60 which connects the lower end of this lever with a transverse shaft 6|joumaled in the frame 22a. The link 60 may be connected with the shaft6| by means of an eccentric block 02 which is adjustable relative to theaxis of the shaft for varying the drawing stroke of the die slide 25.The rock shaft 28 also carries a lever 63 which is connected with theshaft 34a of the lower feed roll 34 by means of a link 84 and a clutch65 having an arm or lever tea with which the link is connected.

The clutch 65 is a one-way clutch of a construction known to thoseskilled in the art and is arranged so that the clutch arm 65a will havean idle stroke during the drawing stroke of the die slide 25, and willhave a working stroke during the return stroke of the lever 21. When theclutch arm 65a swings through its idle stroke the feed rolls remainstationary, the stock at this time being held against backward movementby the gripping device 29 while the drawing die is being pushed over thestock by the working stroke of the die slide 25. During the workingstroke of This of the block 69 in the forked portion of the lever Thecut-off unit 23 of the machine comprises a frame 23a. having thereon anelongated hollow member or stock guide I0 into which the stock is fedfrom the feedrolls l8 and 31, and a pair of I shearing dies H and 12located between such hollow member and the feed rolls and adapted toshear the stock after the desired length has been fed into the hollowmember. The hollow member 10 may comprise a bar suitably mounted on theframe 23a and having a longitudinally extending groove or recess 10atherein. The bar is preferably arranged with the groove or recess on thebottom or underside thereof, as shown in Figs. 7 and 9, so that when thesection of stock has been cut of! by the dies 'II and I2, it can dropfrom the member 10 onto an inclined section I! of the frame, from whichit slides or rolls into the trough 14.

For supporting the stock while it is being fed into the hollow member10, we provide a shutter II which 'forms a closure for the groove Ila.

This shutter may be in the form of an angle bar,

as shown in the drawings, and is carried by a plurality oflongitudinally spaced swinging arms 16 so that the shutter may be movedaway from the groove of the member 10 to release the section of stocktherefrom. The arms I6 may be connected with. a. rock shaft 11 to whichrocking movement is imparted for opening the shutter in timed relationto the cutting of the stock, as will be presently explained. a

The die II is a stationary hollow die which is suitably mounted in theframe 23a and through which the stock is fed into the hollow member Ill.The die I2 is in the form of a cutter or blade movable transversely ofthe hollow die II, and

may be carried by a slide 18 which is reciprocable in a guidewayprovided in the frame. The slide 18 has an opening 18a through whichthestock extends below the cutter 12, so that upon downward movement ofthe slide, the stock will be cut on the shaft and engaged by the link.The shaft 8| may have a fly wheel 84 thereon which is p driven from asuitable power device such as the electric motor by means of a suitablebelt .8 or the like. The fly wheel 84 is not keyed to the shaft 8|, butis keyed to a sleeve 81 which is journaled on the shaft and cooperateswith a clutch 0!. The fly wheel may rotate continuously, but the shaftBI is driven only when a section of stock is to be cut off. The clutch88 is of the kind known as a single-revolution clutch, and sinceclutches of this kind are well known in the art, it need not bedescribed in detail. When this clutch is engaged, in a manner to bepresently explained, it connects the fly wheel 84 with the shaft 8i andcauses the shaft to be driven for a single revolution, whereupon itautomatically disconnects the fly wheel from the shaft. During thissingle revolution of the shaft 8 I, the cutter I2 makes one stroke andcooperates with the die II to shear the stock.

The mechanism for controlling the cut-oil operation will be describednext. This mechanism includes a stock gauge 89 having an arm portion orflnger 99a located in the hollow member I and adjustable therealong forvarying the length of sections to be cut from the stock. The stock gauge89 also has a block or head portion 89b slidable in an elongated hollow.gauge guide b and the gauge can be adjusted longitudinally of the hollowmember 10 by means of a rotatable screw 90 extending through a threadedopening in such block or head portion. The screw 90 may be rotated bymeans of the pinion 9I and driving gear 92 located at the outer end ofthe frame 234:. The pinion 9I is connected with the screw 90 and rotatesthe latter in one direction or the other when the gear 92 is driven bythe handle 93. This can be done while the machine is in operation and isa distinct advantage for making fine adjustments for length of blankswithout stopping the machine.

The stock gauge 89 also has limited movement in the hollow member I0 inresponse to the engagement of the stock with the gauge, and this limitedmovement is utilized to trip the clutch 99 by which the fly wheel 89 isconnected with the shaft 8|. The inner end of the gauge screw 90 carriesa pair of spaced collars or abutments 94 and 99 which are pinned orotherwise connected to the gauge .screw. A forked lever 99 engages thecollar 99 and is mounted on a transverse shaft 91 so that outwardmovement of the gauge screw will cause rocking of this transverse shaft.The shaft 91 carries a latch lever or trigger 98 which cooperates withan arm 99a of a star lever 9..

The star lever 99 may also be referred to as the clutch control leverand is journaled to rock on a transverse shaft I00. An arm 99b of thestar lever carries a roller IOI which, as will be presently explained,cooperates with a cam I02 mounted on the shaft 9|. An arm 990 of thissame lever cooperates with the clutch 98 and is normally in engagementwith the shoulder or abutment I09 thereof, as shown in Fig. 12. A fourtharm 99d of the star lever 99 is connected with a rod I04 which extendsthrough a ing I05 and is acted upon by a compression spring I06surrounding the rod between the lug and an abutment I0I providedadjacent the outer end of the rod. The spring I09 exerts a pull on thearm 99d tending to swing the star lever 99 in a direction to disengagethe arm 990 from the clutch abutment I09 but the latch lever 98 normallyengages the arm 99a and prevents such swinging of the star lever.

When the stock is fed into the hollow member I0 and engages the stockgauge 99, it moves the gauge outwardly for the limited amount abovementioned, thereby pulling the gauge screw 90 in a correspondingdirection and rocking the shaft 91 by means of the lever 99. The rockingof the shaft 91 swings the latch lever 99 upwardly, thus releasing thearm 99a and permitting the spring I09 to swing the star lever in a 79clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 12, thereby disengaging the arm 99cfrom the clutch abutment I09, and at the same time swinging the arm 99bin a direction to press the roller I9I against the surface of the camI02. At the time that the latch lever 98 is tripped in the manner Justexplained, the cutter slide I8 is in its upper position and the cam I02then stands with its low point I02a opposite the roller IOI. When thearm 99c is disengaged from the abutment I09 of the clutch 89, the clutchis thereby tripped and connects the fly wheel 99 with the shaft 9I. Theshaft 8i now makes one revolution, thereby actuating the cutter slide I9and cutting 03 the section of stock which has been fed into the hollowmember I0. During this revolution of the shaft 8|, the roller IOI rideson the cam I92,

and by the time that the one revolution of the shaft has been completed,the high point I92b of the cam will have arrived under the roller IN andwill have rocked the star lever 99 in a counter-clockwise direction, asseen in Fig. 12, to reengage the arm 99c with the clutch abutment I08,which disengages the clutch thus disconnecting the fly wheel from theshaft. This counter-clockwise movement of the lever 99 sweeps the arm99a across the beveled face 990 of the latch lever 98, whereupon the arm99 is caught and held by the shoulder or trigger portion 98b of thelever 98. The latch lever 99 is normally swung toward engagement withthe arm 99a by the action of a compression spring I09 on a lever I09connected with theshaft 91.

To lessen the shock resulting from the. engagement of the clutchabutment I09 with the arm 99c of the lever 99, we may provide the am 990with a movable thrust block IIO which is cushioned by a compressionspring III suitably mounted in a recess of the arm. In addition to thiscushioning means on the arm 990, we may decrease the momentum of theclutch 99 by slowing down the shaft 8i during or just prior to theengagement of the clutch abutment I09 with the thrust block IIO. Forthis purpose we may provide a suitable friction brake II2 arranged toact on the shaft 8I as shown in the drawings. This brake also acts tostop the shaft 9| after the clutch is diseng ed.

It will be seen from the foregoing explanation that when the cutter I2starts its downward movement to shear the stock, the outer end of thestock is being held against the stock gauge 89 by the feed rolls so thatthe length to be cut will be accurately gauged. As soon as the cutterbites into the stock it will be held by the cutter and the gauge canthen be moved away from the stock so that the severed section or blankcan drop freely out of the hollow member 19 as soon as the shearingoperation is completed. For thus moving the gauge we provide a pair oflevers H8 and Ill which are mounted on and keyed to the transverse shaftI00 at laterally spaced points and a cam I29 with which the lever II4cooperates.

The lever II3 has an opening in the head thereof through which the gaugescrew 99 e!- tends. This opening of the lever I I8 has a counter-boreH31; in which is located a compression spring I I9. The collars 94 and95 of the gauge screw 90 are spaced apart a greater distance than thethickness of the head of the lever 9 so that there will be some lostmotion between the lever and the collar 95. The spring 9 n4:- mallypulls the gauge screw inwardly and hollh the collar 94 against the leverIII, but durim the initial outward movement of the gauge screw resultingfrom the engagement of the stock with the gauge 99, the spring I I6 willyield and permit the lost motion between the collar 95 and the lever M9to be taken up. This predetermined limited outward movement of the gaugescrew thus permitted by the spring H is suflicient to actuate the latchlever 99 to release the arm 99a of the star lever 99.

The lever I I4 is a bell crank lever of which the downwardly extendingam 441 carries a roller Ill. The arm II4b is connected with a rod Illcarrying an abutment or spring seat II9 against which the compressionspring I20 acts. The opposite end of the compression spring engages aseat I 2i which can be adjusted inwardly or outwardly by the screw I22to vary the compression of the spring. The roller III cooperates withthe cam I23 which is mounted on the shaft 9|, and the spring I20normally holds the roller III against the cam. During the singlerevolution of the shaft 9|, which produces the cutting stroke of theslide 10, the roller III descends the cam I23 and the spring I20thereupon-rocks the levers H4 and H9 causing the gauge screw 90 to movethe gauge 89 away from the end of the stock 2|. After the stock has beensevered by the cutter I2, the roller III ascends the cam I23, therebyswinging the levers H4 and H9 in the opposite direction and causing thegauge screw 90 to pull the gauge 99 back to its regular position readyto be again engaged by the leading end of the stock when the latter isfed into the hollow member I0.

It was stated above that the shutter I5 is swung to an open positionduring the cut-off operation to permit the severed section of stock aninterval of time when the forward movement of the stock ceases while thetwo pairs of feed rolls are still being driven. When this occurs,

the feed rolls slide relative to the stock, but into drop out of thehollow member 10. For actuating the rock shaft 11 to thus swing theshutter I5 we provide a cam I24 on'the shaft 8i and a lever I25 which isactuated by this cam. The lever I25 may be pivoted on the shaft I00 andthe arm I25a thereof may carry a roller I29 which engages the cam I24.The other arm I25b of this leveris connected with the rock shaft TI bythe links I21 and I28, the bell crank lever I29, and the lever arm I90.When the shaft 0| is rotated during the cutting operation, the lever I25will be rocked by the cam I24 and will cause the shutter to be swung toits open pcsition shown in broken lines in Fig. 9. After the cuttingoperation is completed, the roller I26 descends the cam I24, and thelever I25 is swung in a direction to close the shutter I5 by the actionof the spring I3I.

We have explained above that the cut-ofislide I9 and the associatedmechanism are actuated from the shaft 8|, which is driven by theelectric motor 85, and have also explained that the die slide 25 and thetwo pairs of feed rolls are actuated from the shaft BI. It should alsobe explained that the shaft BI may be driven from the shaft 8| as bymeans of a chain I 92 extending around the sprockets I33 and I34. Bydriving the shaft 6| from the shaft 0|, it will be seen that thedrawing, feeding, and cut-oil operations can all be carried out' intimed sequence to each other. In connection with the cut-off operation,it should likewise be explained that when the leading end of the stock2i is fed against the stock gauge 89 and shifts the latter through thelimited distance which releases the latch lever 99, the stock remains inengagement with the gauge 99 until the die I2 actually begins to cutinto the stock. There is, therefore.

asmuch as this is only for a relatively short interval, no damage isdone to the stock.

When a new length of stock is started through the machine, it may bedesirable to out one or more sections on of the leading end for purposesof adjusting or testing the apparatus and also to get rid .of anyirregular portion which may occur at the leading end of the stock. Toenable the operator to initiate such a cut-off operation wheneverdesired, we provide a manually operable trip lever I35 which isconnected with the rock shaft 91. When this trip lever is swung to theleft, as seen In Fig. 12, it will lift the latch lever to release thestar lever 99 and initiate a cut-off operation in the same manner as ifthe latch lever 98 had been lifted as the result of the engagement ofthe leading end of the stock with the gauge 89.

From the foregoingdescription and the ac companying drawings. it willnow be understood that we have provided novel apparatus-for operating onwire stock and with which blanks cut accurately to a desired length canbe produced rapidly and economically and such blanks will be entirelyfree of the tendency to warp or buckle.

While we have illustrated and described our novel apparatus in a more orless detailed manner, it will be understood. of course, that we do notwish to be limited to the particular procedure and apparatus hereindescribed in detail, but regard our invention as including such changesand modifications as do not constitute a departure from the spirit ofthe invention and the scope "of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of cooperating feedrolls adapted to receive therebetween a strand of wire stock to be fed,

" a frame member having one of said rolls mounted thereon and'having aguideway therein above said one roll, a head carrying said second roll,said head being hinged to said frame member for movement in saidguideway, a lever pivoted on said frame at one side of said guideway andengageable with said head, a fulcrum at the other side of said guidewayand movably connected with the frame by means including a compressionspring, and a second lever pivoted on said fulcrum and having a camportion held against the first lever by the action of said spring onsaid fulcnnn.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a, pair of cooperating feedrolls adapted to receive therebetween a strand of wire stock 'to be fed,a. frame member having one of said rolls mounted thereon and having aguideway therein above said one roll, a head carrying the second rolland movable in said guideway, a spring acting on said head in adirection to separate said rolls, a lever acting on said head to closethe rolls, said lever being pivoted on said frame at one side of saidguideway, a fulcrum at the other side of said guideway and movablyconnected with the frame by means including a compression spring, and asecond lever pivoted on said fulcrum and having a cam portion heldagainst the flrstlever by the action of said spring on said fulcrum.

3. In apparatus of the character described, a

pair of cooperating feed rolls adapted to receive therebetween a strandof wire stock to be fed, a frame member having one of said rolls mountedthereon and having a guideway therein above said one roll, a headcarrying the second roll and movable in said guideway, a spring actingon said head in a direction to separate said rolls, a. leverarranged toact on said head to close the rolls, a yoke adjacent the outer end ofthe first lever and having yieldable connection with said frame member,and a second lever fulcrumed on said yoke and having an eccentricportion engaging the first lever adJacent its outer end. a

4. In apparatus of the character described, a stock gauge, a pair offeed rolls engageable with wire stock for feeding the same against saidgauge, a cutter spaced from the gauge, means for actuating the cutterincluding a movable control member, said gauge being capable ofpredetermined movement in response to the engagement of the stocktherewith and being connected with said control member so that saidpredetermined movement causes actuation of the latter, said feed rollsbeing capable of relative sliding on the stock for holding the sameagainst the gauge so that the stock length will be accurately gauged forthe cut-ofl operation, and means for moving the gauge away from thestock during the cutting operation.

5. In apparatus of the character described, a stock gauge, means forfeeding wire stock longitudinally against said gauge, a cutter spacedfrom said gauge and operable to sever a corresponding length from saidstock, said stock gaugebeing' capable of predetermined movement inresponse to the engagement of the stock therewith, means controlled bysuch movement of the stock gauge and operable to cause actuation of saidcutter, and means for moving the gauge away from the stock substantiallyupon engagement of the cutter with the stock.

6. A cut-ofl' apparatus for wire stock comprising,a cutter adapted tosever the stock, an elongated hollow member having a bottom opening anda movable shutter closing said bottom opening, a stock gauge spaced fromthe cutter to correspond substantially with the length of stock desired,means for feeding the stock into said hollow member and against saidgauge, means for actuating said cutter, said stock gauge being movablein response to engagement of the stock thereagainst, a movable controlfor the cutter actuating means adapted to be actuated by such movementof the stock gauge, means for moving the gauge away from the stockduring the cutting operation, and means for opening said shutter intimed relationto the actuation of said cutter.

7. A cut-oil? apparatus for wire stock comprising, a cutter adapted tosever the stock, an elongated hollow member having a bottom opening anda movable shutter closing said bottom opening, a stock gauge in saidhollow member, means for feeding the stock into said hollow member andagainst said gauge,-means for actuating said cutter, said stock gaugebeing adjustable along said hollow member to vary the length of stock tobe cut and having limited movement in response to engagement of the swckthereagainst, means for adjusting the position of the stock gauge, meansfor actuating said cutter. a movable control for the cutter actuatingmeans adapted to be actuated by said limited movement of the stockgauge, means for moving the gauge away from the stock during the cuttingoperation, and means for opening said shutter in timed relation to theactuation of said cutter.

8. A cut-oi! apparatus for wire stock'comprising, a cutter adapted tosever the stock, an elongated hollow member, means for actuating saidcutter, a trip device controlling the cutter actuating means, a rodextending longitudinally of said hollow member and connected with saidtrip device, a stock gauge in said hollow member and connected with saidrod, said gauge and rod being capable of predetermined movement toactuate said trip device in response to engagement of the stock with thegauge, means for moving the gauge away from the stock during the cuttingoperation, and means for feeding the stock into said hollow member andagainst said gauge.

9. A cut-oil. apparatus for wire stock comprising, a cutter adapted tosever the stock. an elongated hollow member, means for actuating saidcutter, a trip device controlling the cutter actuating means, a rodextending longitudinally of said hollow member and connected with saidtrip device, a stock gauge in said hollow member and connected with saidrod, said gauge and rod being capable of predetermined movement toactuate said trip device in response to engagement of the stock with thegauge, means for feeding the stock into said hollow member and againstsaid gauge, said rod having screw connection with said gauge and beingrotatable for shifting the gauge relative to the cutter.

10. In apparatus of the character described, a stock gauge, means forfeeding wire stock against said gauge, a cutter spaced from the gaugeand operable to sever the stock, means for moving the gauge in thedirection of stock travel for shifting the gauge away from the stockduring the cutting operation. and a common shaft for actuating saidcutter and said gauge moving means.

11. In apparatus of the character described, an elongated hollow memberhaving a stock discharge opening, a stock gauge in said hollow member,means for feeding wire stock into said hollow member and against saidgauge, a cutter spaced from said gauge and operable to sever the stock,a shutter closing said stock discharge opening and being movable torelease the severed stock, means for moving said gauge away from thestock during the cutting operation, and a common shaft for actuatingsaid cutter, said movable shutter and said gauge moving means.

FREDERICK W. GAINES, 3:. WILLIAM A. EHLERT.

